The invention is particularly well suited for splicing adjacent ends of successive rolls of tire cord fabric to form a continuous sheet of fabric for uninterrupted processing at relatively high speeds. The fabric could be processed at higher speeds if it were not for the delays caused in joining and disjoining the individual rolls of fabric before and after the treatment of the fabric in the rolls. These delays are presently compensated for by moving the fabric into storage accumulators, before and after processing, where an excess of fabric is stored to provide continuity of the process while the rolls are being fastened together and separated from each other. Sewing machines are generally used for splicing the overlapped trailing end of the fabric being processed and the leading end of the fabric about to be processed. It takes considerable time stitching the overlapped ends together, and occasionally the sewing needles break during the stitching operation causing even greater delays which must be compensated for if the process is to continue smoothly without a shutdown. Moreover, sewing machines are complex pieces of equipment requiring constant maintenance to keep them in good working condition and free of breakdowns caused by a malfunction of one of the many moving parts of the machine. The invention is directed to making an improved splice which saves time and some material which is usually ruined and must be discarded.
Briefly stated, the invention is in a method and apparatus for axially joining two pieces of fabric composed of warp cords which are held in parallel array by weft threads. The apparatus comprises a clamp for holding the adjacent ends of the two pieces of fabric in overlapped relation, the warp cords of the overlapped ends being generally parallel. Means are provided for guiding a plurality of splicing rods into piercing engagement with the overlapped ends at points spaced along parallel lines angularly disposed to the parallel warp cords, the rods passing through the overlapped ends alternately from the opposing farthest spaced faces of the overlapped ends.